Separate Hurricane Shelter for Sex Offenders

(Sanford, Florida) On the heels of two high-profile kidnappings and subsequent murders of girls by registered sex offenders, Floridians are justifiably concerned about tracking the offenders during hurricane emergencies. Nobody wants them to go to public shelters, which are typically in schools, where families and many children congregate.

Consequently, Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger has proposed using a work release center attached to the county jail as a designated shelter for sex offenders. The Sheriff would send out his deputies during emergencies to check on any sex offenders who didn't report to the designated shelter.

The idea sounds fine but it may be unreasonable to try and track down individual people during the chaos of a hurricane emergency. In any event, the hurricane scenario just adds to the existing administrative burden that law enforcement carries in keeping track of sex offenders. One might be beguiled into believing that the police didn't have enough to do.